Tion limited



P; H. JOHNSON.

MEANS OF SUSPENSION 0F VEHICLES.

APPLICATION FILED OCT-151L921.

Reissued Feb. 21, 1922.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l- P. H. JOHNSON.

MEANS. OF SUSPENSION OF VEHICLES. APPLICATION FILED 001 15, 1921.

3 SHEETS'SHEET 2.

Reissued Feb. 21, 1922.

P. H. JOHNSON. MEANS OF SUSPENSION OF VEHICLES.

' APPLICATION FILED ocT.15.192\.

Rc'maucd Feb. 21. 1922.

llllll flllllllilllllll'll UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PHILIP H. JOHNSON, OF OLD CHARLTON, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOB TO ROADLESS TRAC- TION LIMITED, 01: LONDON, ENGLAND.

MEANS OF SUSPENSION OF VEHICLES.

Specification of Reissued Letters Patent. lip/issued Feb. 21, 1922.

Original No. 1,329,769, dated February 3, 1920, Serial 150,296,562, filed May-12, 1919. Application for 1 reissue filed October 15, 1921. Serial No. 508,029. i

To all whom. it may concern Be it known that I, Puimr HENRY JOHN- soN, a, subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at Old Charlton, Kent, England, have invented new and useful Improvements in Means of Suspension of Vehicles, of which the following is a specification;

This invention relates to improved means of suspension of vehicles and especially vehicles ot' the endless track type or those having an articulated track or independent track shoes, but it is also applicable. to vehicles suchus railway vehicles in which the axles are guided by horn plates.

The object of the invention is to provide an effective suspension for a variety of types of vehicles (whether designed to run on rails, roads or across open country) which will absorb shock caused by obstacles, undulations or irregularities of the surface traveled over, and distrilulte by compensationthe load due to the weight of the vehicle over the various points ol' support.

In this pecification, the word rope is used to describe any flexible connection similar to a r'ope and having the same general characteristics.

According to this invention a. plurality of rope guides or pulleys is mounted in a plane at intervals along the vehicle and a plurality of other pulleys is arranged alternately to the first set, and a rope is passed under the pulleys of one set and over the pulleys ot the other set alternately. The rope may be securcd to the vehicle or .may be. endless passing around the vehicle and springs may be provided to increase the elasticity of the system and diminish shock to the rope.

)no set of pulleys are body-supporting pulleys as they reston the rope and thus sustain the body. The other setof pulleys support the rope and are themselves supported. This lastmentioned set of pulleys is preferably arranged alternately with the body-' supporting pulleys. I

One set of pulleys may be carried on bogics having small wheels or rollers run:-

ning on an endless track, which bogies on op posite. sides oi the vehicle may be rigidly connected together or adj acentlmgies at eac side otthe vehicle may be flexibly connected together, More than one rope is usually em" ployed, pulleys to carry them being arranged accordingly.

' among them.

The drawings illustrate apparatus made in accordance with this invention.

Figure 1 is a side elevation and Fig. 2 is a transverse section. 'i

Fig. 3 is a side elevation and Fig. 4 is an end elevation partly in section of the same apparatus, both to a larger scale.

Figs. 5 and 6 are a side elevation and a plan of a vehicle in which the bogies on opposite sides are connected together, while Fig. 7 is an end view.

In Figs. 1 to 4-, a number of bogies 10 have two axles 101 on which are wheels 102 running on an endles traclt 15-and on each bogie 10 are two double. pulleys 103 and on the vehicle are two sets (if pulleys l2, ropes 13 being secured to the vehicle at 131 and 132 passing over the pulleys 103 and under the pulleys 12. The bogics 10 are connected together by ropes l t; both ends of which are secured to the vehicle by means of springs 101 and 162 respectively The bogies 1t) float sidewisc on the ropes between the pulleys 12 and the arrangement permits of steering without skidding that portion of the. track in contact with the ground and bearing the weight of the vehicle.

In Figs. 5, G and 7, the bogies 10 are arranged in a similar manner to those in Figs. 3 and -t opposite bogies being connected together by shafts 1?. ()nc suspension rope 13 is required which is endless passing around pulleys 18 at the ends of the vehicle while at the rear end the rope passes around other pulleys 19 at the end of an arm 191 (see 'Fig. 7) whose movement iscontrolled by a spring 192. T he endless tracks 15'are driven by wheels 21 and pass under the wheels 20 on the vehicle, and pivoted arms, 22 having rollers 221 on one end bear against the tracks 15 to take up any slack under influence of.

springs 2-22 atthe other end of the arms.

1n operation, a shock transmitted, to one bogie or support 10 tends to push the bogie or support 10 upward. This pulls on the rope 13 which in turn pulls on the other bogies or supports 10 equally, thus transmitting the shock from one bogie to the other bogies and distributing the shock equally In ordinary operation, the

play of the rope suspension between the independently movable supports will absorb all jar Without transmitting the some to the vehicle body and with negligible functioning rality alternately.

of any spring mechanism. The use of independently movable supports thus accomplishes a novel functioning of the device which renders it of great utility in vehicle suspension. The ropes 16 at all times keep the bogies .spaced from one another and prevent possible interference of adjacent ,bogies.

, It will be observed that the invention com- I prises a frame equipped with rope guides (12), independentlymovable supports (10) also equipped with rope guides, and a rope connected with said frame and passing across the guides to yieldingly sustain the frame on said supports.

\Vhen a rope-supporting pulley is raised or lowered With its support, when encountering an obstruction or irregularity in the ground surface, a reverse movement is given to an adjacent rope-supporting pulley and this change inthe relation of the parts is transmitted, to a greater or less extent, through the series.

The mechanism shown ind igure 1 of the drawings may extend from one end of the vehicle to the other, or it may be arranged under one end thereof. The upper frame of the vehicle may be supported in any suitable way on the frame A, shown in Fig. 1. Theframe Axmay be considered in its relation to- I hesupports 10 a part of the vehicle body.

1. A vehicle body having supports beneath it, equipped with pulleys mounted on said body and supportsto turn about horizontal axes, and a rope connected with the ve hicle body and passing over and under the pulleys to yieldinglysustain the vehicle body on said supports.

i 2. A vehicle body having supports beneath it, equipped with a set of pulleys mounted on the body to turn about horizontal axes and another set of pulleys mounted on the supports to turn about horizontal axes, and a rope connected to the vehicle body and passing over and under the pulleys to yieldingly sustainthe vehicle body.

' 3. A vehicle combined with a plurality of pulleys arranged at intervals along the lower portion of the vehicle, a plurality of other pu'lleys'on the vehicle supports arranged alternatel to thefirst set and a rope passing under the pulleys of one plurality and over the pulleys of the other plurality alternately.

4., A vehicle combined with a plurality of pulleys arranged at intervals along the vehicle, a plurality of other pulleys arranged alternately to the first set and carried on bogies runningon an endless track and a rope passing under the pulleys of one plura ity andover the pulleys of the other plu- 5. A vehicle combined with a pluralityof pulleys arranged at intervals along the vehicle, a plurality of other pulleys arranged alternately to the first set and carried on bog les running on an endless track, a flexible COIIIIBClllOIl' between adjacent bogies and a rope passing under the pulleys of one plu-.

rality and over the rality alternately.

6;.A vehicle combined with a plurality of pulleys arranged at intervals along the vehicle, a plurality of other pulleys arranged pulleys of the other plualternately to the first set and carried on 75 bogies running on an endless track, a flexible connection between adjacent bogies, a rigid connection between bogies on opposite sides of' the vehicle, and a rope passing under the pulleys of one plurality and over the pulleys of the other plurality alternately.

'l A vehicle bod having independently movable supports. beneath it equipped with rope guides mounted on said body and said supports, and a rope connected with the vehicle body and passing across the rope guides to-yieldingly sustain the vehicle body on said supports.

8. A vehicle body having independently movable supports beneath it equipped with a set of guides mounted on the body, another set of guides mounted on the supports, and a rope connected to the vehicle body and passing over and under the guides to yield inglysustain the vehicle body.

A vehicle body equipped with rope guides, independently movable supports beneath the vehiclebody also equipped with. rope guides, and a rope connected with the vehicle body and passing across the rope guides to ielding] y sustain the vehicle body on said supports.

l0.-A vehicle body equipped with rope guides, supports beneath the vehicle body also equipped With rope guides, a rope con.- nected with the vehicle body and passing across the rope guides to yieldingly sustain the vehicle body on said supports, and means for movably connecting the supports with each other.

1.1. A wheeled vehicle having a load carrying structure with independently movable supports beneath it equipped "with rope guides mounted upon said structure and upon the supports, and a rope connected with the vehicle body and passing across the guides to yieldingly sustain the load carrying'structure.

12. Suspension mechanism for vehicles comprising a frame equipped with rope guides, independently movable supports associated therewith also equipped with rope guides, and a rope connected with said frame and passing across said guides to yieldingly sustain the frame on said supports.

. 13. Suspension means for vehicles, comprising a plurality of guides, independently movable supports therefor, a ,plurality of body-supporting rope guides having a fixed relation to the rope-supporting thereon, and

raised or lowered a reverse movement is im' parted to an adjacent rope-supportingguide.

15. Suspension means for vehicles, comprising a plurality of rope guides, awheelcarrying support for each of said guides, a plurality of body-supporting rope guides, and a-body-supporting rope extending across said guides whereby when one of the rope.- supporting guides is raised or lowered a reverse movement is imparted to the other rope-supporting guides.

16. A vehicle body having independently movable supports beneath 1t, rope-guiding pulleys on the supports, rope-guiding pulleys for supporting the vehicle and a rope passing over and under the pulleys to yieldingly sustain the vehicle whereby when one of the rope-supporting pulleys is raised or lowered a reverse movement is imparted to the other rope-supporting pulleys to a degree proportional to their propinquity to said last mentioned rope supporting pulley.

17. Suspension means for vehicles comprising a plurality of rope guides, wheeled supports therefor, a plurality of body-supporting rope guides and a body-supporting rope extending under the body-supporting guides and over the first-mentioned guides, in combination with a movable endless track on which the wheeled supports bear.

18. The combination with a vehicle body of independently movable supports beneath the body, rope guides on rope guides on the supports, and a support ing rope for the body having means for holding it in place and which passes under and over saidpulleys to yield'ingly sustain the body on said supports.

19. Suspension means for vehicles com-' prising a'frame, a porting pulleys thereon, a plurality of independently movable wheeled supports, pulleys a l'iody-supporting rope extending underthe,frame-supporting pulleys and oventhe other pulleys, for the purpose specis0' guides whereby said supporting members,

,weight to the the vehicle body,

plurality of frame-sup-a 20. Suspension means for vehicles comprising a series of body-supporting rope guides having a fixed relation thereto a series of intermediate rope guides, independently movable supports for said lastnientioned rope guides, and a body-supporting rope extending guides, whereby \vhenoneof the supports is raised or lowered a reverse movement is given to an adjacent support.

21. Suspension means for vehicles, comprising a frame, rope guides thereon, sup porting members for said frame which are independently movable with relation thereto and extend to ground level, rope guides or,

and a body-supporting rope passing alternately under and over said rope guides.

22. Suspension means for vehicles comprising rope-guiding pulleys mounted to turn about horizontal axes and on which the weight of the vehicle is carried, other rope-guiding pulleys mounted to turn about horizontal axes, individually movable supports for said pulleys which transmit the ground, and a body-supporting rope extending across said pulleys to yieldingly sustain the vehicle on said sup ports.

23. A vehicle suspension comprising a rope, guides below the rope for supporting it at different points, independently movable supports for said guides which move vertically to raise and lower the rope and transmit the weight of the vehicle from the rope to the ground, and rope guides alternating with those first mentioned arranged above and resting on the rope and which transmit the weight of the vehicle thereto.

24. A vehicle suspension comprising a rope, on which the weight of, the vehicle is supported, rope guides which support the rope at intervals, independently movable supports for said guides which transmit the 'rope on which the weight of the vehicle is a plurality of rope guiding pulleys which support the rope at intervals,

supported,

independently movablesupports for said pulleys which. transmit the weight of the vehicle to the ground, and rope guiding pulleys mounted 'to move about horizontal the rope and transmit the axes which rest on weight of the vehicle thereto.

In testimony whereof I affix my si nature.

' PHILIP H. Jomv son.

under the body-support- 'mg rope guldes and over the intermediate 

